


The Most Dangerous Date

by IllegalCerebral



Series: CM Bingo 2020 [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Baking, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Dating, Dinner, F/M, Fluff, Happy Spencer Reid, Minor Injuries, Relationship Discussions, Skating, Spencer's fine, it's mostly his pride that's hurt, roller skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:20:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22563886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllegalCerebral/pseuds/IllegalCerebral
Summary: Max suggests roller skating for her and Spencer's next date. He's terrified but he knows what it's like to have people make fun of your interests. Plus he likes her. A lot. So it's definitely worth risking broken bones for. Probably.(Because they deserve to be happy and who the hell is Cat Adams anyway?)
Relationships: Spencer Reid/ Maxine "Max" Brenner
Series: CM Bingo 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1597159
Comments: 10
Kudos: 46





	1. The Most Dangerous Date

**Author's Note:**

> **I only post my work to AO3 and tumblr. If you find this story posted on other platforms it has been stolen and reposted without my permission**

“You okay Spencer? You look kind of pale.” Max paused in lacing up her skates, fixing him with a concerned look. Spencer swallowed.

“I am a-okay,” he gabbled, “Really, really looking forward to this. So excited.” His fingers shook as he fumbled with his own laces. Why had he agreed to go roller-skating? What kind of stupid idea for a date was that?

It had been Max’s idea of course and he had agreed because her eyes had lit up when she spoke about going skating with her friends as a kid until they had all decided that they were too old for that. He’d felt how sad she was when she told him how they’d scoffed when she suggested hanging out at the local rink or she’d begged to go for her birthday. Eventually she stopped and they’d go to the movies or the mall instead but Max had always wanted to go back. Who could have said no when she suggested they go here for their next date?

Add in the fact that Spencer really wanted Max to like him, to think he was fun and spontaneous and that why he was sitting there, getting frustrated with those ridiculous shoes and trying to keep the nausea at bay. When Max saw how graceless and ridiculous he looked she would run (or skate) a mile and he’d never see her again.

This sucked. Hard.

“Ready?” Max beamed.

“Hell yeah.” Spencer had never uttered the phrase ‘hell yeah’ in his entire life and he regretted that they might be his last words as he shakily followed Max out to the roller rink. Spencer’s arms were spread wide and as soon as he could he grabbed the rail to steady himself, feeling his feet nearly go from underneath him. Luckily for him the place was kind of quiet, only a bunch of kids and a few couples. There wouldn’t be too many witnesses to his humiliation.

Max was off like a rocket, hair whipping around her face as she glided onto the floor. The lights were pink, blue, and gold and for a moment Spencer watched her and forgot about everything else. She whirled around, carefree and light like a bird.

“You coming?” she called. Gingerly Spencer rolled towards her but kept one arm on the rail, knuckles white. “You have skated before right?”

“Oh yeah loads,” Spencer lied. Sending a prayer out into the universe he let go of the rail…

…and almost immediately feel down with a crash.

“Are you okay?”

“There must be open door somewhere, there was this breeze…” Spencer panted as he managed to get onto his hands and knees. When he tried to stand up straight the skates slipped out from under him again and the impact made his teeth rattle. The old bullet wound in his knee throbbed, making the rest of his leg tingle.

“Is there something wrong?” Max looked at him in concern.

“Don’t worry it’s just an old injury.” Max’s brow furrowed further.

“We can stop-“

“No, no. It will be fine in a sec.” Spencer paused a moment, stretching his leg out a little until the tingling subsided and his knee felt normal again. With all the strength he could muster Spencer pushed himself upright into a standing position. Any sense of triumph was immediately quashed as feet slid forward and Spencer fell backwards, his legs almost going over his head.

“Maybe it was an earthquake. Do you feel a tremor?” Spencer asked through clenched teeth.

“There are no fault lines in DC,” Max extended her hand and a moment later she was on top of Spencer who was grunting in pain. “Wow you’re a fast mover Dr. Reid. I expected dinner first.”

“Oh god I’m gonna die.” Spencer threw his arm over his face, his cheeks burning. Max gave a small chuckle, the sound warm rather than mocking.

“Has anyone told you you’re kind of a drama queen?”

“Actually no.”

“You’ve never skated before have you?”

“You can tell?”

“Spencer,” Max settled down beside Spencer on the rink and helped him into a sitting position. “why did you say yes to date here then? We could have gone to a movie or something else you liked.”

“You looked so happy when you talked about skating.” Spencer gave a small shrug and winced at the twinge in his shoulder that followed. “There’s nothing that makes someone more beautiful than their face lighting up when they talk about something they love. I guess I felt bad that your friends stopped you from doing something you loved and if I had the chance to change that then I wanted to take it.”

“You are kind of unbelievable you know that?” Spencer looked up at Max. Her face was a mixture of shock and something else he couldn’t quite pinpoint, “Tell me, do you practice being this smooth?”

“Smooth?”

“Nothing makes someone more beautiful than their face lighting up when they talk about something they love?”

“Well…that’s true.” Spencer said reaching out and taking her hand before he even registered what he was doing. “It sucks when people make us feel bad for liking stuff.”

“Yeah but that was years ago-“

“You still feel sad about it though.”

“So cheering me up was worth risking broken bones?” Max laughed but Spencer nodded. There was a moment of silence between them, not awkward but heavy with something.

“Okay well I don’t want to end the night taking you to the emergency room. You strike me as the kind of guy who likes learning new stuff so how about I give you a crash course in the basics and then you pick where we go to eat?”

“Deal.”

It didn’t surprise Spencer that Max was a good teacher. She was patient, she broke everything down into small steps, and whenever he made a mistake (of which there were many) she would give his hand a squeeze and explain how to fix it. Her hands gently guided him, resting lightly on his hips as they pushed off. The contact didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. Instead it was comforting.

“I’m doing it!” Spencer yelled, “Max look!”

“That’s awesome!” she cheered, grabbing his hand. They skated slowly around the edge of the rink. Spencer was still a little unsteady but he at least managed to stay upright until they were right back where they started.

“How’s your knee?” Max asked.

“Not falling down definitely helps,” said Spencer. In truth as soon as Max had started teaching him he’d forgotten about any pain or discomfort. She kind of looked like she wanted to ask about it and Spencer wasn’t quite ready for that. “You could go round faster on your own you know?” Spencer said instead.

“Where’s the fun in that?” said Max, “Anyway I saw a flyer for jam skating classes on the way in. I always wanted to try that as a kid but I think maybe I’ll give it a go.”

“Really?” The pair of them headed off the ice and settled on a bench to slip off their skates.

“Yeah I guess what you said really resonated with me. I never really admitted how much it bothered me that I stopped doing stuff just because my friends thought it was stupid or boring.”

“I always think it’s better to be doing your own thing and be happy than be miserable with other people,”

“So no more skating dates?” asked Max.

“I’m getting better. I definitely enjoyed you teaching me. Maybe we could do that part again?”

“It’s a date” grinned Max, “but how about we finish this one first?”

“I know a great Vietnamese place nearby. They do these amazing wok-fried noodles.”

“That sounds nice,” smiled Max, “but I was thinking more along the lines of this.” Max stood on her tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss to Spencer’s lips. He kissed her back, more firmly, his hand brushing her cheek gently.

“Definitely worth breaking a few bones for,” he grinned, as they broke apart. Max smacked him playfully on the arm.

“Next time you choose what we do.”

“Is more kissing an option?” asked Spencer, not entirely joking.

“Maybe.”


	2. Next Steps

“I got the job!” Max fell into Spencer’s arms, squeezing him tight, “I mean, hello how are you?” She stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck. “I’m sorry I’m just super excited.”

“You should be, that’s amazing!” gushed Spencer. He picked up her up, spinning her around so she squealed in delight, before planting a firm kiss on her lips. “I’m really happy for you.”

“I was thinking,” a blush dusted Max’s cheeks. “I want to celebrate and I was hoping you might let me make dinner at my place?”

“Your place? Where you live?”

“Yeah well I thought it might be kind of weird to barge into someone else’s kitchen,” Max laughed but she was wringing her hands a little. Seemed like Spencer wasn’t the only one feeling nervous.

“I would really like that,” Spencer said as calmly as he could. Inside he felt like he was bouncing off the walls. After coffee he headed into work and the excitement gave way to anxiety. Max had said she wanted to take things slow but now she was inviting him over to her home and making dinner and what did that even mean anyway?

“Reid where are you?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been standing in front of the elevator for like two minutes man. Everything okay?” Luke look concerned. Behind him JJ approached, eyes flicking between the pair of them.

“Sorry I’m a little distracted,” Spencer shook his head and pressed the button for their floor.

“Is it your mom?” JJ asked, gently. Spencer shook his head but hesitated. He really didn’t want this to become a big deal. JJ’s shoulder’s relaxed.

“That’s good. As long as she’s okay.”

“She is. It’s…so Max has invited me over to her place for dinner.”

“Max? Cute teacher Max? Who I have of course heard nothing at all about,” Luke added on hastily.

“It’s fine, it’s not a secret,” smiled Spencer, “she just said she wanted to take things slow but she got a new job at the Smithsonian and wants to celebrate.”

“With you!” beamed JJ, “That’s good right?”

“Yeah I guess I’m not sure how to interpret it and what it means for us…” Spencer shifted a little from side to side. He was so desperate for this to work. He liked Max a lot, and the thought of screwing things up by making the wrong move was awful.

“Look man, I am the last person to be giving out relationship advice,” Luke’s shoulder’s sagged slightly. Spencer shot JJ a look and she pressed her lips together tightly in response.

“I’m sorry,” Spencer said, awkwardly. He was regretting saying anything at all. Luke shrugged.

“Sometimes things just don’t work out.”

“And that’s a sign you aren’t with the right person.” JJ’s voice was thick with implication. She turned back to Spencer, “look you know there’s an almost fool-proof method of gauging what a person’s intentions are right?”

“What?” Spencer’s eyes lit up, “Like a profiling technique?”

“Kinda.”

“Profiling your girlfriend sounds kind of risky,” said Luke, “Lisa…was not a fan of me bringing my work home.” The doors to the elevator opened and the three of them made their way to the bullpen.

“This isn’t like that I promise,” said JJ, “It will totally work okay?”

“Tell me!”

“Talk. To. Her.”

There was silence as Spencer and look scrunched up their faces in confusion, coming to a dead halt as JJ strode off.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it!” JJ called over her shoulder, “ask Max how she feels. Don’t put pressure on her and listen to what she says. Women find listening very sexy.”

A case took them away for three days so Spencer still made it back in time for dinner at Max’s place. In those three days he and Max had texted frequently and on the night before their return home he’d called, JJ’s words fresh in his mind.

“How’s the case?”

“We made an arrest,” sighed Spencer, “it’s just a little bit of debriefing and paperwork and then we can head home some time tomorrow afternoon.”

“You sound tired. Everything okay?”

The case had involved children and vulnerable adults and though it had been resolved quickly they were still going to leave behind four devastated families and a community that would take a long time to recover.

“This is a always the difficult part. When everything’s over and you have to take stock. I’m looking forward to seeing you at the weekend though.”

“Me too,” Max’s voice was warm, “I’m working on a surprise.” Spencer’s chest fluttered.

“Max…we said we’d take things slow. Are you…okay with this?”

“It’s not the sexy kind of surprise Spencer.” A mixture of relief, disappointment, and embarrassment hit Spencer all at once. “It’s just a quiet dinner where we can talk and get to know each other better. I really like you.”

“I really like you too! I’m not good at this stuff so I just wanted to make sure you’re comfortable and happy,” Spencer said. It felt like a weight had been lifted as soon as he said it out loud.

“Then everything’s fine,” he could hear the smile in her voice, “and whenever we feel ready to take the next step we can talk about.”

“Deal”

Finally then, a few days later he was knocking on the door of Max’s apartment. The décor inside would make Penelope jealous, Spencer thought as he took in the bright colours and soft furniture. There were art prints crowding every wall and the rest of the space was filled with photos of family and friends.

“Yeah I have a kind of chaotic sense of style,” Max laughed as Spencer looked around.

“It’s amazing!”

“I’ve done steak for dinner I hope that’s cool with you.”

“It smells delicious!”

It tasted delicious too, soft and juicy with roasted potatoes and steamed vegetables. He was going to have to brag about this meal to Rossi when he went in on Monday.

“You started the jam skating classes this week right?” Spencer asked once they were done. They were both pleasantly full and relaxing on Max’s couch. The close proximity should have made Spencer nervous but everything about the night was so calm and relaxing.

“I did and I have some nice bruises to show for it,” Max laughed, “But seriously I owe you one for getting me into skating again. Bruises aside it feels amazing to be enjoying something so much.” Spencer beamed at her.

“That’s fantastic!”

“And now for the surprise!” Max declared, getting to her feet, “I figured since you tried something I loved at the skating rink, I’d try something you loved for our first dinner date. I think I guessed right.” With a perplexed frown, Spencer watched her hurry into the kitchen and returned with a plate covered in a bright yellow cloth which Max whipped off with a flourish.

“Oh my god. You made those?”

On the plate sat twelve doughnuts slathered in chocolate with a swirly design in purple icing. His mouth watered as he looked at them.

“You order the same thing every time we’ve gone out,” said Max, “the store was out of sprinkles but the icing kind of reminds me of your scarf. It’s silly…”

“No it isn’t, not at all!” said Spencer, “the fact you did this for me is…” he couldn’t find the words to say how big a deal something so small was. Max offered up the plate and Spencer had to hold back from devouring the whole thing in one go. There was a slightly spiced flavour to the dough and the chocolate was thick and velvety. There were probably the best doughnuts he’d ever eaten. They each had about two more with the rest wrapped up for Spencer to take home.

“I was thinking,” Max said slowly, “we could always have them tomorrow.”

“Oh totally! I don’t think I could get up and leave these alone.”

“I meant here,” Max gave him a nervous smile, “You could come over again and we could spend the day together?”

“What happened to taking it slow?”

“You don’t want to?”

“Oh I do!” Spencer tried not to sound too eager, “I mean, I would really like to but only if you’re comfortable.”

Max took his face in her hands, kissing him deeply with the hint of chocolate still on their tongues.

“I am,” she said, pulling away only slightly, “Very comfortable with you Spencer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another CM Bingo entry. This one is doughnuts!
> 
> **I only post my work to AO3 and tumblr. If you find this story posted on other platforms it has been stolen and reposted without my permission**

**Author's Note:**

> My second CM Bingo entry of 2020. This one fulfils my 'injury' square.


End file.
